Sheer Delight

My formal gold-rimmed dinnerware with the family monogram hardly gets taken out for a ride except for holidays, but I wanted something dreamy and floaty to go with the chiffon I wanted for my table cover this week.





I set this up at mid-day, so the light suggested to me something billowy and beachy, but I really can't wait to try it again in the evening with candles and twinkle lights.





I always LOVE white, but it seems I lately NEED white. I find white both serene and energizing. Sort of the formula for keeping calm but productive in the middle of a chaotic schedule (or life).





I enjoy the varying tones of color between the creamy pitcher, the bluey ironstone, and the pure white of the tiny porcelain pewter-lidded pot.





My white roses have certainly run the gamut this week! I may have to make them my post signature! Ha! But if I didn't have them for the centerpiece, I would simply use the lid on the urn to center the scene.




It's always nice to have something decorative and out of the mainstream as part of a tablescape to add interest. Twice as nice if you can actually SERVE out of it!




Having a vintage towel always at the table is the next best thing to having a butler! And this one maybe IS my post signature.





Instead of actual shells the motif is carried in the greeting cards which can serve as place cards, menu cards, or favors.



But I wanted the emphasis of this summery table to be it's coverings.





Providing the underskirt is a couple of flocked sheer vintage chiffon curtain panels laid over each other.





A white on white vintage embroidered table round is layered over, and the vintage napkins are left to drape over the sides. I saw some ruffly silk organza napkins offered in the just-out House Beautiful for $28 EACH that fit the mood we're going for here, but they were a) $28 EACH, and b) impractical! A dinner napkin should never be just for show.






The semi-sheer napkin here is silky handkerchief linen. Still indulgent, but also absorbent, and easy to maintain.

A little monogram at the corner is a nice detail.

A sweet leaf close-up of the chiffon underskirt.

Shell details.

The ivory-colored vintage knives mixed with the flatware reduce the formality of the setting.

As does the flower cart/ server.

Flowers floating in the vintage glass creamers and sugar bowl would be a nice touch but are sweet enough to stand alone. (YOU could use the flowers that are probably floating around in your garden! LUCKY!)

Thanks so much for stopping by my little corner of the universe!
And Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Linked with Between Naps on the Porch for Tablescape Thursday
and BARGAIN HUNTING (and chatting) With Laurie

Between the Lines

My offering for today's Wordless Wednesday.
Pop in over there for more posts beyond words!

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Roses and Rembrandt

I once visited Rembrandt's rooms in Amsterdam. His studio was a virtual walk-in cabinet of curiosities with natural artifacts like huge shells and an enormous turtle carapace.



I wanted to take a bit of that room with me, but the only tangible thing I came away with was a postcard of a Rembrandt shell drawing, and a couple of museum posters.



This one depicts an early self-portrait of which Rembrandt rendered a great many.



Of the influence of art Marcel Proust said this:

Only through art can we get outside of ourselves and know another's view of the universe which is not the same as ours and see landscapes which would otherwise have remained unknown to us like the landscapes of the moon. Thanks to art, instead of seeing a single world, our own, we see it multiply until we have before us as many worlds as there are original artists . . . And many centuries after their core, whether we call it Rembrandt or Vermeer, is extinguished, they continue to send us their special rays.

The Maxims of Marcel Proust

In a simpler way, our sharing here accomplishes much the same thing. We view more of the universe, share our worlds and our landscapes.





So I am sharing Rembrandt with you. He's good company to have. Always quiet, and doesn't make much of a mess. Even if he is always reminding you of how brilliant he is!

Thanks for stopping by and leaving behind a few of your special rays--
Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

I'm joining Kathleen over at Faded Charm for another White Wednesday.
Visit there for more wonderful white!

Teacups & Roses

I don't grow roses so I never get my fill. And more likely than not when I DO buy them they're going to be white.



White flowers suit my rooms best. And since I have moved inside for this week's tea, WHITE it is!



The beginning of August means a new stack of old magazines to pull out. And I've noticed that the August Victoria covers change to indoor scenes as well.



August covers are my favorite because the photos are always full to bursting with gorgeous stuff!



They often feature fun shops and are full of interesting details to pore over. My teacups this week are in the busy category too.



A Myott pattern called Banff, the flowers have a stylized transferware floral design.



As usual I have a few orphaned plates that I can never pass up because they are gorgeous, and often crazy cheap! I either mix and match for a dinner or use them decoratively as here. This one is Medway by Meakin.



Brown transferware can be mixed almost indiscriminately!



This collection is gathered on a sideboard in a south facing room that gets plenty of afternoon sun, and which houses the majority of my decorating books and magazines.




Twenty years ago I saw a neighbor moving this piece of furniture into storage in their basement and offered to take care of it for them. It seemed a shame to hide it away. Year after year sped by and I moved it with me to my new home thirteen years ago knowing I would have to give it up someday. This year we struck a deal, and the piece is now mine! Is that nutty or what?




But I've heard of many such yours, mine, and ours stories about furniture, and have a few more tales to tell myself!

Hope you're enjoying your week!
Thanks for stopping over! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline


Today I'm joining Table Top Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
A Delightsome Life for the Victoria Party
and Martha's Favorites for Teacup Tuesday

The Mellow Season

I'm still loving Summer. And what's NOT to love? The early mornings here on the east patio are cool and peaceful. Our monsoons have kicked in, and all in all it's been a mild past few weeks. But I'm looking for a change at this mid-point and the new month, so I have dug into my linen piles for a cheery vintage spread to throw over my settee.




The morning side of the house is always a good place for gathering thoughts before the day begins. Maybe jot a note or two. Send off a Thank You.



My books and magazines aren't any further than my piles of linens! So the beginning of the day is as mellow as it's going to be for as far ahead in the day as I can foresee.




Our visiting young people have gone off after a couple of enjoyable weeks, and we will ride out another bend in the rhythm of first missing loved ones, and then being glad to be ourselves again.

The small changes ease the transition, and set a new scene on my covered porch. It's the only place I can keep my vintage Heywood Wakefield wicker outdoors!

"The Water Rat was restless, and he did not exactly know why. To all appearance the summer's pomp was still at fullest height, and although in the tilled acres green had given way to gold, though rowans were reddening, and the woods were dashed here and there with a tawny fierceness, yet light and warmth and color were still present in undiminished measure, clean of any chilly premonitions of the passing year. But the constant chorus of the orchards and hedges had shrunk to a casual evensong . . . and there was a feeling in the air of change and departure."

Wayfarers All, Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Graham.

Hope you enjoy the August season!
Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline

Linked to Mellow Yellow Monday
and The Coloradolady for Vintage Thingie Thursday

A Sunshine Holiday

And the jocund rebecks sound
To many a youth, and many a maid,
Dancing in the checkered shade.
And young and old come forth to play
On a sunshine holiday.

John Milton, L'Allegro, 1631

See more Shadow Shot Sunday @ Hey Harriet

Thanks for stopping by! Ciao! for now!

Jacqueline